THE LEGACY OF MORMON

I am in awe of Mormon. Worthy of my admiration is his spiritual tenacity to survive the most evil period of Nephite history morally unscathed and for that he deserves every praise. My ultimate admiration, however, concerns his achievements as a historian and a writer. I know of no other historian who has had the capacity to intimately connect with his readers like Mormon has. The Jewish historian, Josephus, comes close but nowhere near Mormon's standard because Mormon, unlike all the others, was a man of God with a vision. When I read the Book of Mormon I do not hear his voice even though he occasionally interrupts his narrative to reveal himself. What I hear when I read his record is the voice of God. This speaks volumes regarding his true intent which was not to bring himself to prominence but to bring men unto Christ. Mormon was a visionary man and he wrote with this one purpose. Having witnessed the destruction of his people fueled his desire to in some way save the future generations 'that they may once again be a delightsome people' (Words of Mormon 1:8).

As a writer, my biggest motivation comes from my readers. A writer needs to be read. Mormon never had this satisfaction. Imagine writing a book for people who would live almost 2,000 years after you and beyond. What would you say? What motivation would you have for doing it? So why did Mormon do it? Besides his desire to save the remnant of the House of Israel (Mormon 7:1-5), the obvious reason is that the records were handed down to him with a commission when he was just 10 years old that he keep them going (Mormon 1:1-4). The second reason is that he was commanded what to write (3 Nephi 26:12). But here is the crux of the matter, I believe Mormon who was a visionary man, knew his readers. He knew us and he knew us at close range.

Why do we have the Book of Mormon today? Because Mormon's son Moroni caught and continued his father's vision. And herewith is another amazing visionary man with an equal commitment to the salvation of others and preservation of the house of Israel. Moroni had a clear vision of our day and he described it in impeccable detail. I cannot help but believe that he saw my home land when I read: "Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands" (Momon 8:29). Right now Australia is burning. The smoke has reached New Zealand. 6,300,000 hectares of its land is scorched and burnt to the ground.  Did Dorothea MacKellar's heart ache when she penned her famous poem "I love A Sunburnt Country" as much as Moroni's when he saw it burn?

The Book of Mormon is your book. It is a book you can recognise yourself in. It will prick your conscience when you need it; give you answers when you feel lost; give you understanding when you have none and equip you with knowledge to enable you to fight your every foe. You were before Mormon's eyes when he wrote it and before Moroni's when he preserved it. They knew you. They prayed for you. And they wished against all hope that you would read it. Can you not feel this through these words: "Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing." (Mormon 8:15)